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The stagecoach might seem a historic relic to most, but it still has a very real presence and significance for the annual Rose Parade.

It was the original chassis for the parade floats.

When the Rose Parade first made its way down Colorado Boulevard on Jan. 1, 1890, there were no elaborate floats with moving parts that can barely limbo below the streetlights. There were only horse-drawn carriages decorated with flowers, viewed by 250 spectators at 25 cents a ticket.

The parade was founded by the Valley Hunt Club, a hunting and fishing social club that came out of the 1880s Southern California land boom. The parade was an effort to show off the city of Pasadena and celebrate the new year in a “grand” fashion. Charles F. Holder, who coined the name Tournament of Roses, was inspired by the flower festival in Nice, France.

“The original time was just a group of neighbors who wanted to celebrate the new year in a decent fashion,” club member Carl Cooper said. “It probably had two functions, one of which was just to have a good time and to get together, and the other was to really try to promote Pasadena as a beautiful place to be on New Year’s Day, without six inches of snow.”

The club’s entry on Jan. 1 will be an 1868 park drag carriage provided by the Leyendekker family of Visalia. The family has provided the carriages for the club’s Rose Parade entry since 1983, Cooper said.

In addition to the Valley Hunt Club’s entry in the parade each year, the spirit of the original parade lives on, said Jeannette Morales Collier, Tournament of Roses committee services coordinator.

“The Rose Parade itself was founded by the Valley Hunt Club, so our history is very deeply rooted in our equestrian units, as the parade started with horse carriages decorated with fresh flowers,” Collier said. “Our equestrian units continue the tradition.”

The Valley Hunt Club was the first, but it is not the only group with a long tradition of Rose Parade participation. Other veteran equestrian groups include the New Buffalo Soldiers, the Spirit of the West Riders, Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament, the Martinez Family and the Budweiser Clydesdales.

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This will be the 59th parade for the Budweiser Clydesdales, who are back this year after a two-year hiatus. In an unprecedented move, they will pull a float carrying Tournament of Roses President R. Scott Jenkins. Doug Bousselot, supervisor for the East Coast Budweiser Clydesdales hitch, said the group is happy to be back in the parade this year to continue a long-standing tradition for the horses and for families across the nation.

“It’s a holiday and a lot of families are together, and there are grandparents who remember the Budweiser Clydesdales in the parade or in their hometown,” Bousselot said. “It’s almost like some traditions that each and every family has during the holidays that kind of bonds the older generation with the younger.”

Benny Martinez, who will ride in his 32nd parade on Jan. 1, said the parade’s equestrian groups, mixed in with the elaborate floats, also provide a unique feel that takes viewers back to a simpler era.

“Back in the olden days, there were no cars or motor vehicles,” Martinez said. “The only means of transportation were horses and I kind of miss those days.

“I just imagine how it could have been to travel across the U.S. on horseback. That’s one of the reasons I think horses are important in the Rose Parade. It brings back memories when things were more simple.”